The Serbian government on Friday demanded from Pristina to abolish the so-called import duty on flour transported from Serbia to Kosovo and Metohija.
The Serbian government announced this on its website, citing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic
According to this, Ljajic said that “a protest note has been lodged with the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina in charge of the implementation of the CEFTA agreement, and with representatives of UNMIK, due to the introduction of a special fee of EUR 40 per ton of flour, which was introduced on October 23.”
Ljajic said this represented “a classic customs barrier that prevents or even stops the export of flour from (central) Serbia” and “explained that the protective measure of the Kosovo authorities was introduced because allegedly flour from Serbia was being sold below the market price, that is, the price of production.”
CEFTA (the Central European Free Trade Agreement) is a regional free trade agreement, where the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, is a party on behalf of Kosovo.
Kosovo is Serbia’s southern province where ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence in 2008 – a proclamation Serbia rejects as a violation of its Constitution, and the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
